Some days ago I recieved a couple of links which contained an assumed new variant of gals, the ishokuhada gyaru. When I saw it I felt in love but I started to ask myself...are ishokuhada gals actual gyaru? Is it a substyle, as we say in the West?

The word ishokuhada -different skin- it's nothing new in Japan, not even in the West. In a world of videogame, fantasy films and comics, who hasn't seen a full-blue skinned character or a red horned demon? This is the premise which ishokuhada starts, a skin from another dimension or planet. So, the only way to have a different colour skin is through bodypaint -in other words, painting all the body with specialized makeup-.

However, bodypaint wasn't mandatory until ishokuhada appears, maybe with the exception of some visual kei artists like Seek of Psycho Le Cému. The reason was simple. The photographer Uni Tonnktu contacted some models and gravure* cosplayers (グラビアアイドル) in Kabuchiko, Shinjuku's Ren American Bar to do a photosession for a male magazine.

*For who doesn't know, gravure models are something like idols who appear in softcore/sexy photographies -generally in swimwear, lingerie or minuscule cosplays - featured in men magazines. It's common to see in manga and anime a stereotypical perverted middle aged man reading this kind of magazine. Gravure models are in contact with other in communities called clubs.

25/06/2017 - Frist tweets about ishokuhada gyaru.26/06/2017 - Some japanese websites started to talk about ishokuhada as a new gyaru substyle28/07/2017 - English ishokuhada articles30/07/2017 - First ishokuhada outfit by Happy unbirthday12/07/2017 - Ishokuhada models appear in an article of Shūkan Shinchō (週刊新潮);a weekly tabloid press. I don't know if this publication is the original ishokuhada publication. 14/07/2017 - Exposition in Mabaroshi about ishokuhada called Ishiborashi New Culture.

If I have to explain ishokuhada, I would do it like this. First of all, we have cosplay as basis because it was the background of the models -and not gyaru- and we mix with the one of the most revolutionary female movements of Japan, bodycon -which was basically liberated women who hang out in Juliana's Tokyo in a sexy, body-conscious outfits and later became into ultrasexual spandex clothing, feather boas, methacrylate heels and champagne-.

With an outfit between cosplay and hipersexualisation, we can find that they want to choose something that represent themselves, that make them unique. As club kids did before -they had a kind of personal brand - ishokuhada gyaru choose what would be their skin tone if they were extraterrestrial. Their skin tone transforms onto their favourite colour. In this case, paint someone in black doesn't have nothing in common with blackface (racism). Otherwise because their favourite colour is black.

Since there the yamamba thing appeared. Yamamba -and their substyles and evolutions - rocked the fake tan until the extreme and wore a characteristic makeup that ishokuhada models would imitate. Circle lenses, stickers below the eyes and fake lashes to make the eyes look bigger.

Another important influence could be uchuu kei, a cute alien-ish style. Nevertheless, in ishokuhada the cute thing disappears to became sexy and provocative. From uchuu kei acquires some glitter and futurist tops and flashy colorful tutu skirts that reminds 80's and 90s.

The other influences are little details I noticed -so it's slightly subjective - The use of clothes and hairstyles that are more neogal than gyaru, colors and accessorizes from pop kei and some synthetic hair accessories from cyberpop Takuya's Angel mononoke collection.

Meanwhile I was finishing this I asked myself, this is actually gyaru? Looks like not. Is this a new urban tribe? I think that's not the first intention. It was to do a different and creative photosession. Morever, I don't know until what point in the creative process they were involved. Had they chose the topic or they modeled for money, like their twitter anounced. Hence, it's obvious to talk about an style that is going to save Harajuku (#saveHarajuku) it's disproportionate -it wasn't even in Harajuku-.

However in the West informed about Ishokuhada like something new in Japanese streets even if it's something transient -such as bagelheads, for example - but we don't have to disesteem the creativity of the main characters and the power and influence of the West. For now, original ishokuhada gals are recieving a lot of fan arts, interviews, questions and they don't doubt to reblog other people who do ishokuhada skin. Currently, the fame is in crescendo and Miyako hosted a party as a DJ and they would appear in Kimo Pretty Festival (真夏のキモ可愛い文化祭), organized again by Maboroshi.

Honestly, I don't see them as a style like lolita. I see ishokuhada as a funny option to create a character -an example is Miku, who says that she is Ichiosi, a enchantress with 7 centimeter long tongue-, go to party and have fun as something puntual.

Melancholy is nothing new in Japan. It's something that everybody know. It's everywhere: in the paintings, in the performances or in literature. Even the most saddest memes comes from anime. So sadness and melancholy is something inherent in Japan -in IRL and online- and obviously expressed through Internet. I'm not talking about the infamous suicide chats or forums, I'm referring to mental health forums, which are more common. Specially 2chan's board.